Saved by the Bell
Saved by the Bell was an NBC network sitcom series created by Sam Bobrick which aired from August 20, 1989 to May 22, 1993, lasting for four seasons & 86 episodes. The show was a retooling of the Disney Channel network series "Good Morning, Miss Bliss." It was produced by Peter Engel Productions & NBC Productions, and distributed by Rysher Entertainment. Two spin-offs were spawned from the series: "Saved by the Bell: The College Years" and "Saved by the Bell: The New Class." Plot The series centered on the lives & friendships of six high school kids (Zach, Kelly, Slater, Lisa, Jessie and Screech) throughout their high school years at Bayside High School in Palisades, California. Cast *Mark-Paul Gosselaar as Zach Morris *Mario Lopez as A.C. Slater *Dustin Diamond as Samuel "Screech" Powers *Tiffani-Amber Thiessen as Kelly Kapowski *Elizabeth Berkley as Jessie Spano *Lark Voorhies as Lisa Turtle *Dennis Haskins as Mr. Richard Belding *Ed Alonzo as Max (1989-1990) *Leanna Creel as Tori Scott (1992) Production Good Morning, Miss Bliss In 1986, Brandon Tartikoff (then-president of NBC, asked Peter Engel to develop the pilot for a new prime time series, "Good Morning, Miss Bliss," Tartikoff had been inspired by his sixth grade teacher, Miss Bliss, and had long wanted to make a show about someone like her. The series would focus on Miss Carrie Bliss, a recently married sixth grade teacher at the fictional John F. Kennedy Junior High School in Indianapolis. Even though Sandy Duncan was originally considered for the titular role, the series ultimately became a vehicle for former British child star Hayley Mills. Veteran writer Sam Bobrick was brought on to write the episode and the pilot's cast included future stars Jonathan Brandis, Brian Austin Green, and Jaleel White. The pilot aired on June 11, 1987, but NBC had decided not to pick up the series even before it was shown. Tartikoff didn't want to give up on the show, though, and made a deal with the Disney Channel to air thirteen episodes of the series in prime time. If the initial order did well, Disney was prepared to order an additional seven-seven. The show was completely retooled, with Mills the sole remaining cast member from the pilot. Miss Bliss's class was changed from the 6th grade to the 8th grade, and the kids would be more central to the story. "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" aired on NBC and Disney Channel from 1988 to 1989. However, the show failed to pick up a following and did poorly in the ratings. By the time the show's last episode aired, Disney and NBC had already decided against ordering more episodes. Saved by the Bell Tartikoff felt there had been strong elements to "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" and wanted to try the show again with a different time slot and a different approach. The elements featuring the kids had been well-received, so Tartikoff wanted to drop the Miss Bliss character from the show altogether and focus entirely on the teens. NBC had been losing the high end of their animated audience, kids ages 10 to 12, so the idea was to create a live action comedy to air on Saturday mornings, a new idea at the time. Engel was skeptical of the new format at first, and did not want to make children's programming. However, his wife convinced him that making the show would be a worthwhile endeavor, and he soon told Tartikoff he would do the show. However, Engel felt that Indianapolis was not exciting as a location, and moved the show to a semi-fictional part of Los Angeles, "the Palisades." The main locations of the show would be the teenager's school, Bayside High, and The Max, a fictional eatery they frequent. In addition, they would film before a live studio audience. The majority of the cast was replaced, and Tartikoff gave a seven episode commitment for the show. In a meeting with Engel and Tartikoff, senior producer Tom Tenowich suggested the name "Saved by the Bell." Even though Engel hated the name, Tartikoff loved it. The name stuck, and filming commenced, with the first episode, "Dancing to the Max," airing in prime time on August 20, 1989. Characters In casting "Good Morning, Miss Bliss", Peter Engel knew the success of the show would not hinge on Miss Bliss herself, but on her students. Engel particularly envisioned one character, Zack Morris, who "would be that incorrigible kid who could lie to your face, letting you know very well that he's lying, and make you love him for it all the same." He insisted that the show could not go on without Zack Morris, but he turned out to be one of the most difficult characters to cast. Engel's casting director, Shana Landsburg, finally happened across 14-year old Mark-Paul Gosselaar and was immediately struck by the teen's charisma, charm, and good looks. After a quick read-through, Gosselaar was immediately given the role. After casting Zack Morris, the next character sought after was Morris's nerdy friend, Samuel "Screech" Powers. Gosselaar was asked to read through the script with a number of kids, and a second audition was scheduled for finalists. It was Gosselaar himself who insisted that Dustin Diamond was right for the part as he believed Diamond was Screech in real life. After reading through the script, Diamond was given the part, although Engel later found out that he had misread his head shot and Diamond was considerably younger than the rest of the cast (a fact that had he been aware, it might have prevented Engel from casting him). The character of Lisa Turtle was originally conceived as a rich Jewish princess from Long Island, spoiled, materialistic, and obsessed with shopping. While still casting for the role, actress Lark Voorhies was brought into Engel's office, and he immediately knew she was perfect for the role despite the fact that it meant rewriting the character. The school principal, Mr. Gerald Belding (as originally conceived on "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" was an older, humorless man) and was played in the 1987 pilot by character actor Oliver Clark. After the show was retooled for Disney Channel, the character's first name was changed to Richard and he was recast, with Dennis Haskins ultimately winning the role. Mr. Belding was rewritten to be significantly younger and to have a much different sense of humor When "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" was retooled as "Saved by the Bell", four actors and their respective characters from the original series were brought over to the new series: Gosselaar, Diamond, Voorhies, and Haskins. The rest of the cast was fired, and Engel sought to replace them with new characters who would complement the old ones. The first of the new characters, A.C. Slater, was conceived as a young John Travolta type who would be an army brat and wear a leather jacket. He was originally conceived of as Italian-American. However, when all efforts to cast the character were unsuccessful, Engel asked that the part be opened up to other ethnicities. Two days later, Mario Lopez, a dancer and drummer of Latino descent from Kids Incorporated auditioned for the role. Lopez was, by far, the best actor who auditioned, and was cast. For Kelly Kapowski, the love interest of both Zack and Slater, producers were able to narrow the field down to three actresses: Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, Elizabeth Berkley, and Jennie Garth. Engel had originally met Thiessen in 1988 while casting for "Good Morning, Miss Bliss" and was impressed with how much her acting had improved. He wanted her for the role, believing she had the perfect all-American girl appeal for the role, while others felt that Berkley (as the more experienced actress) would be a more reliable choice. Ultimately, Engel convinced the others after a read-through with Lopez, and Thiessen received the role. Engel and the other producers did not want to lose Berkley, however, as she was the strongest actress they'd seen during casting. Berkley originally auditioned for the role of Karen, a love-interest of Zack's on "Good Morning, Miss Bliss", but she lost the role because she was so much taller than Gosselaar at the time. Engel believed that, now that Berkley's height was more even with the rest of the cast, she could be perfect. They were not having much luck in casting the third new character, Jessie Spano, who was conceived as a strong, feminist activist and a straight-A student, so Engel suggested offering the role to Berkley, who gladly accepted it. Rounding out the new cast was real-life magician Ed Alonzo as Max, the owner of the gang's frequent cafe hangout, The Max, who frequently performed magic tricks. However, Alonzo's role would ultimately only last through the end of the first season, and he left after a single guest appearance during season two. In 1992, "Saved by the Bell" unexpectedly received an order for an additional eleven episodes to be shot after the graduation episode. However, Thiessen and Berkley had already decided to leave the show. Though producers knew they couldn't replace Kelly and Jessie, they also knew they couldn't leave Lisa as the only girl on the show. A new character, Tori Scott, was created as a cool, but pretty biker girl who would also serve as a love interest for Zack and also act as a nemesis for him initially and Leanna Creel was cast for the part. Rather than develop a second new character, the producers decided to rely more on minor recurring characters such as Ginger, Ox, and Big Pete. Category:NBC TV shows Category:1980s television series Category:1990s television series Category:Comedy Category:Sitcoms Category:1989 Category:1990 Category:1991 Category:1992 Category:1993